Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The first table below shows changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables show changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The tables provides information about the changes comes in the population of New Yark City between 1800 to 2000. It also shows the changes in the different districts of the city over the same period.

Overall, it can be seen that population has increased significantly over the years where Manhattan was recorded the highest decline, while Brooklyn, Bronx , Queens and Staten Island was recorded for the continuous growth.

In 1800, majority of population was came from Manhattan as it was recorded at 76% while other districts accounted at 24%. In 1900, the population increased more than twice and recorded at 3,437,202 where more than 50% population comes from Manhattan on the other hand only 46% came from other districts.

In 2000, proportion of population has increased where most of the population noticed from other districts accounted at 81% while percantage of people decline and recorded at 19% from Manhattan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall contrast: New York’s population grew, while Manhattan’s share fell and the other districts’ share rose. The figures of 76% and 24% in 1800 and 81% and 19% in 2000 are reported accurately, and the overview selects relevant trends. However, some key details are incomplete or inaccurate: in 1900 the city total was 3,437,202, but it was not more than twice the 1800 population; it was over forty times larger. You also say Manhattan’s population declined without giving its figures, and do not report the total population in 2000 or the other districts’ absolute growth. Develop these comparisons more fully and distinguish population totals from percentages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs moving through the three years. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In 1800,” and “In 2000” help signal the stages. The progression is not fully smooth, however. The 1900 sentence combines the city total and district shares in a way that makes the comparison difficult to follow, especially with “on the other hand” joining figures that are not opposites. Some references, such as “the population” and “where,” are also unclear. Grouping the figures by trend—city growth, then Manhattan versus the other districts—would make the comparisons more logical and cohesion less dependent on year-by-year transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “population,” “districts,” “accounted,” “proportion,” and “decline,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range and control are limited by repeated or imprecise expressions. “Changes comes in the population” and “population was came from Manhattan” are not natural ways to describe the figures, while “population noticed from other districts” obscures the intended meaning. There are also spelling errors in “New Yark” and “percantage,” and “recorded” is repeated where more precise reporting verbs would help. Aim for accurate collocations such as “the population stood at” and “accounted for,” and use “share” or “proportion” consistently when discussing percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “while” and a longer comparison using “on the other hand.” However, errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to interpret. For example, “The tables provides” has subject–verb disagreement, “population was came” uses an incorrect verb form, and “Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island was recorded” has faulty agreement and structure. The sentence beginning “In 1900” also lacks a clear grammatical link between the total and the district percentages. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build comparisons with complete clauses; this will let you retain complex structures while making the meaning clearer.

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